Chapter 33
CASSIDY
Several hours passed, filled with more waiting on my end, and tons of tests on hers. All my body seemed to be able to do was pace. Back and forth. Back and forth across the floor of her hospital room. Eventually, I managed to plop myself down on a chair, only for that to be interrupted the moment the door opened.
Except it wasn’t Briar returning from her scans. Rooney and Weston walked in and dragged two more chairs to either side of mine. “What about Tenley?” I asked as Weston plopped himself down.
“She said to come. CeCe is on a fairly simple schedule, and she told me my hovering was getting annoying,” Weston replied with a chuckle.
Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back, idling my time away while Briar got another scan of something, leaving me to hope that the prognosis was better than the dire black hole I was slipping into. Holding onto the hope that she wasn’t actually paralyzed shifted into something more like denial hours ago.
“Everyone knows, by the way,” Weston said, breaking the monotonous silence that had been consuming me.
“Knows what?” I asked, glancing at my brother.
“That you and Briar are together,” he answered.
“Oh. Well, I wasn’t exactly trying to hide it.”
“And everyone knows about you, Rooney,” he lightheartedly teased, turning to my other companion, twiddling his thumbs beside me.
“Knows about me? About what?” Rooney asked, glancing up at Weston.
“You’ve been staying at Rosemary’s house for the past week and have slowly put some horses on the market,” Weston explained, and my jaw fell to the floor—the exact distraction that I knew Weston was pining for.
“I didn’t know that,” I said.
“Well, you’ve been here for a couple weeks now, so understandable that you wouldn’t,” Weston answered.
“I’ll buy them,” I blurted out, looking at Rooney.
Both men furrowed their brows as I returned my gaze to my brother. It was bold, brazen, and impulsive, but it was exactly what I needed to do, especially considering the shift in everything around me. Especially for Briar. If she never regained feeling in her legs, I would do whatever it took to make sure she rode a horse again, and this was the first step in getting her what she needed and deserved.
“I know this is short notice, but I quit. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do…with…” My voice trailed off as a grin widened so bright on Weston’s face; I was rather shocked. “Why are you smiling like that?” I asked, pulling my brows together.
“No reason. Just…What’s the plan now?” He chuckled and shared a glance with Rooney, who was also grinning to himself. It was as if they both knew that this was coming.
Rolling my eyes, I smoothed some wrinkles from my pearl snap shirt that Weston had brought for me to change into. “I want to train horses. Full time.”
“How much land do you need?” Weston asked, and I pulled my brows together, glancing back at him.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m asking how much land do you need for this training business you’re going to start? At least, what, ten or fifteen acres, especially if you’re going to absorb most of Rooney’s horses and clients,” Weston explained.
My gaze shot back and forth between Rooney and my brother. “Did you two discuss things?” I shot at them.
They both merely shrugged.
“I would like for you to take over my horses and clients,” Rooney said, ignoring the fact that he just confirmed exactly what I’d asked. “And my clients are all excited for you to do so.”
Then my shoulders slumped as it dawned on me. If I were to accept Rooney’s horses and actually quit, that meant moving to a place that I wasn’t sure Briar wanted to go back to. “Never mind. I have a house on the ranch and just asked Briar to—”
“Exactly why I’m asking you how much land you need so you don’t have to move to Rooney’s place or Briar’s old house but can stay here at home,” Weston butted in.
And it hit me like a ton of bricks. “Are you saying…Are you saying you’ll sell me some land?” I asked, my eyes widening.
“How about I gift you fifteen acres as your severance pay? Besides, it’s technically staying in the family, so it’s still The Duke Ranch. We’ll just be doing more than cattle ranchin’,” Weston offered.
Glancing between Weston and Rooney, my mind went entirely blank. They were being serious right now.
“I’ll sell my place since I’ve pretty much been living at Rosemary’s anyway, so you takin’ my horses make this much easier,” Rooney added.
My jaw remained on the floor, not a single word leaving my tongue.
“Say yes, brother,” Weston urged.
“Yes, brother,” I retorted, blinking myself out of the stupor that had held me tight. “Yes! Thank you!” I shouted a couple of times, and the two men knocked their heads back and laughed.
“Doc already did all of the vet check and paperwork that’s needed on those horses while he was out there to collect the soil samples,” Rooney added with a dismissing wave.
I shook my head, still in awe over the surreal reality that was happening. “This is all actually happening, right? You’re not tellin’ all of this to me just to distract me and make sure I don’t think about the fact that Briar may…” My voice trailed off, and my eyes drifted toward the window.
Beautiful butterflies fluttered near the flower box resting beneath the windowsill. The bright, noonday sun twinkled overhead, casting that golden glow so similar to Briar’s hair. Its false joy clouded the doom that spread in my chest. Normally not one for pessimism, it was a strange feeling sitting in the dark.
“Yes, Cassidy. This is all real,” Weston gently answered and plunked a hand on my shoulder, pulling my thoughts back to my brother beside me. A gentle, crooked grin spread across his face, pulling the scar on his cheek tight. This was happening. This signified his acceptance of my penance paid in full.
I sighed, leaning back in my chair, feeling almost everything coming together. “You’re really okay with me branching off to run my own horse training business? You’re really okay with all of this?” I asked one more time, wanting another reassuring verbal confirmation.
“Cash is very excited for his new job as foreman,” Weston answered, and I chuckled to myself.
Everything was changing. There had already been so much change, and now I was joining them. And in a way that settled so gently in my heart. This was the life path that I was supposed to be on, the journey that I’d meant to take all along, and these two men beside me knew it. Long before I’d figured it out, which was only slightly embarrassing, considering I was normally relatively sharp.
Briar was safe. Sundance was safe. Wayde was locked up. My family was safe and clearly growing. Not only did Rooney end up visiting after all this time, but he’s also staying with Tenley’s mom no less. A brand new, beautiful niece joined the Duke family, Briar was joining the Duke family, and who knows what else was going to happen to grow our small but adventurous world.
I couldn’t wait to see what was coming next. Though, there was a part of me that dreaded it too—especially if it contained an ending for Briar that I knew would tear her to pieces. She was strong, though, and would be able to adjust if that was the case, but I knew it would still destroy her first.
But that was the reality we were facing, and I would make sure that she did not have to endure whatever was to come alone. I would be by her side for as long as I had left on this beautiful earth. She would be a part of my own adventure. An adventure that was no longer just about me, but about us.
If I needed to build a saddle to make sure she could still ride horses, even being paralyzed, I would do it. If I needed to rebuild my home to accommodate a wheelchair, I would do it. Whatever was needed to make sure she stayed in my life, I would do it without hesitation.
And no, not for my own self-sacrificing reasons that she so clearly called out. This would be simply because she was my girl.
Hinges squeaked off to the left, and I glanced up as the hospital door swung open wide and Briar was finally wheeled back into the room. Her eyes—as wide and full of emotion as the day we’d first met—immediately found mine.
I jumped out of the chair as quickly as I could; Weston and Rooney rose beside me. “So, what’s the news?” I urgently asked. They both placed a hand on my shoulder, offering some comfort as the nurses gently lifted her back into the bed.